The present invention relates to firearms, and particularly to a firearm equipped with a safety device which may be used for disabling the firearm from firing a cartridge.
Firearms are presently widely available among civilians as well as law enforcement agents and military personnel. They therefore represent a serious danger to children and others who may have unauthorized access to the firearm. A common way to prevent accidental firing of a firearm is to remove from it an essential operative component, such as the magazine of a pistol, and to keep it separate from the firearm itself. However, in such case the firearm is not ready for use should a need suddenly arise; morever, the separated component may get lost or misplaced. Another known safety means for disabling a firearm from firing a cartridge is an add-on locking device mounted on the trigger guard to prevent access to the trigger. However, in order to enable the firearm for use, the add-on device must be physically removed and placed at a suitable location for ready re-use whenever necessary, which is not only time-consuming and inconvenient, but may also result in the misplacement or loss of the removed device.
Other techniques for disabling a firearm include the insertion of an insert into a firearm's firing chamber or magazine chamber which insert must be withdrawn to enable the firearm to be used. However, an insert into the firing chamber may damage the rifling of the firing chamber. Moreover, such inserts must be separately stored and/or carried by the user, which is not always convenient, and which can also result in the loss or misplacement of the insert.